The Conversation - Is AI a threat to democracy?

+ why we prefer spontaneity in entertainment ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Top headlines

Lead story

There’s been no shortage of news about how AI language models can influence people’s behavior, spread misinformation and sow confusion about what’s real and what isn’t. But it can be difficult to picture what those dangers might look like in the real world.

Harvard Kennedy School political scientist Archon Fung and Harvard legal scholar Lawrence Lessig paint a chilling scenario of a plausible AI system in the hands of a presidential candidate’s campaign. They describe how the hypothetical campaign messaging machine would be able to target millions of people individually and adjust its approach to each person over the course of the campaign, all with the singular goal of changing your voting behavior – including even convincing you not to vote at all.

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Eric Smalley

Science + Technology Editor

An AI-driven political campaign could be all things to all people. Eric Smalley, TCUS; Biodiversity Heritage Library/Flickr; Taymaz Valley/Flickr

How AI could take over elections – and undermine democracy

Archon Fung, Harvard Kennedy School; Lawrence Lessig, Harvard University

Artificial intelligence looks like a political campaign manager’s dream because it could tune its persuasion efforts to millions of people individually – but it could be a nightmare for democracy.

Politics + Society

Judging the judges: Scandals have the potential to affect the legitimacy of judges – and possibly the federal judiciary, too

Ali S. Masood, Oberlin College and Conservatory; Benjamin J. Kassow, University of North Dakota; David Miller, East Tennessee State University; Joshua Boston, Bowling Green State University

Courts have no army or police force to enforce their decisions. Their power rests on their legitimacy in the public eye. How does scandal affect that?
Moldova is trying to join the EU, but it will have a hard time breaking away from Russia’s orbit

Tatsiana Kulakevich, University of South Florida

Lack of control over its borders and corruption are two of the issues that could complicate Moldova’s bid to join the EU.

Ethics + Religion
New anti-transgender laws will hurt Indigenous peoples’ rights and religious expression Rosalyn R. LaPier, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign An Indigenous scholar writes that Indigenous peoples have historically recognized multiple gender identities, which they believe are a result of divine intervention.

Arts + Culture
The allure of the ad-lib: New research identifies why people prefer spontaneity in entertainment Jacqueline Rifkin, Cornell University; Katherine Du, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Audiences love improvised, off-the-cuff entertainment, and new research suggests it’s because spontaneity seems to offer a glimpse of the performer’s authentic self.

Economy + Business

How do credit scores work? 2 finance professors explain how lenders choose who gets loans and at what interest rate

D. Brian Blank, Mississippi State University; Tom Miller Jr., Mississippi State University

Trends show credit scores are rising, with nearly half of all US consumers boasting ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ numbers.
Work requirements don’t work for domestic violence survivors – but Michigan data shows they rarely get waivers they should receive for cash assistance

Kristina Nikolova, Wayne State University; Andrea Hetling, Rutgers University

People who have experienced domestic violence can have trouble finding and keeping jobs because of physical injuries and their abusers’ efforts to sabotage their employment.

Education
How teachers can stay true to history without breaking new laws that restrict what they can teach about racism W. Fitzhugh Brundage, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A history scholar sees leeway and loopholes in a wave of new state laws that seek to control what teachers can say about racism in America’s past.

Podcast 🎙️
Governments and environmental groups are turning to international courts to address the impacts of climate change Daniel Merino, The Conversation; Nehal El-Hadi, The Conversation Governments and activist groups are bringing environmental issues to international courts. They argue that the impact of climate change and environmental issues affect human rights.

From our international editions
Cycling could be a boon for Lagos – but people fear for their safety on bikes Mr. Associated Press: How 20th-century journalism titan Kent Cooper transformed the news industry Why does my dog eat grass? And when is it not safe for them?

The Conversation Quiz 🧠

Here’s the second question of this week’s edition (because the first question contains a Succession spoiler):

Which of these points was NOT included in the debt limit deal passed by the House of Representatives on May 31?
1. A. Military spending reduced until 2025
2. B. Debt limit suspended until 2025
3. C. Unspent COVID-19 funds clawed back for other uses
4. D. Gas pipeline permitting rules eased
Test your knowledge

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Key phrases

East Tennessee State University hypothetical campaign messaging machine Harvard legal scholar AIdriven political campaign political campaign manager good credit score Biodiversity Heritage Library Ali S Masood Benjamin J Kassow New antitransgender laws Indigenous peoples rights Rosalyn R LaPier AI language models plausible AI system Understanding AI series

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